eden girls’ school, slough€¦ · 1 nurturing today’s young people, inspiring tomorrow’s...

1 Nurturing today’s young people, inspiring tomorrow’s leaders

July 2017 Issue 6

Summer Term Newsletter

Eden Girls’ School, Slough

This Summer Term Edition of our School Newsletter marks the end of our second year as a school - an important and memorable milestone for us all! During our first two years members of staff have shown great dedication and commitment to providing pupils with a high-powered learning environment where achievement and progress are coupled with personal progression and character development. Our learners have responded by establishing extremely high standards of behaviour and attendance and exemplary attitudes towards learning. This term, in addition to a great deal of hard work towards end-of-year exams in all subjects, pupils have made significant contributions to our local community, observed the holy month of Ramadhaan and demonstrated their ongoing commitment to a wide range of enrichment and extra-curricular activities. Inside this edition you will find information about our move to our permanent school site over the summer and read articles about the key events that have taken place this term and the most exciting achievements of our learners.

Inside this issue...

Page 2

Message from the Principal

Page 3

Moving Out

Page 4

Whole School Attendance

Page 5

Sports Day 2017

UKMT Challenge

Page 6

Spirituality Day

Page 7

The Big Iftar & Great Get

Together

Page 8

We Stand With Manchester

Page 9

Grenfell Tower Community

Response

Staff Leavers

Term Dates

Nurturing today’s young people,

Inspiring tomorrow's leaders


Principal’s Message

Educational Excellence Pupils have spent a significant part of this term preparing for and taking their end-of-year examinations. We have, once again, been extremely proud of the mature way that our learners have approached these assessments and feel very encouraged about the commitment to educational excellence that they have demonstrated. The level of challenge of these exams has matched that normally expected of GCSE students. Our Teaching Team have worked very hard to ensure that the assessments have stretched pupils to develop the skills and understanding needed for success in future public exams. Teachers have provided pupils with a wide range of curriculum and enrichment opportunities. This has included trips to the Microsoft UK Headquarters, Shakespeare drama workshops and presentations from guest speakers such as Dr Jane Essex from Brunel University and Councillor Sabia Hussain, Deputy Leader of Slough Borough Council. The term has culminated with a packed Activities Week to end the year. Learners have competed in the full range of track and field events at our annual Sports Day and have been out on fun and educational trips to Kew Gardens, The Historic Dockyard and Woburn Safari Park.

Character Development Our Faith and Character Education programme has been developed through a series of Surah Fatiha Workshops for all pupils and a

comprehensive programme to help pupils benefit from the holy month of Ramadhaan and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. In May pupils took part in our termly Spirituality Day. Sessions focused on health and hygiene and the importance of charity. Pupils had the opportunity to speak to aid workers on the ground supporting people affected by the Syrian refugee crisis through a live online link-up.

Service to Communities I am extremely proud to be able to say that our pupils have demonstrated great leadership following national tragedies that have taken place this term. Pupils have spoken at civic ceremonies, promoting peace and unity and have led a community response to support victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. This would not have been possible without the overwhelming and humbling support of our parent community. Similarly, pupils contributed to our community Iftar and Great Get Together in memory of Jo Cox MP. This effort was highlighted by Slough Observer and other local newspapers.

Strategic Development In addition to these important pupil achievements, the school has made progress this term with key strategic objectives. Our recruitment strategy has been very successful and we have been fortunate in making some excellent appointments to both teaching and support posts for September. All newly appointed staff share our vision and ethos of excellence for all.

Preparations for our move to our state-of-the-art permanent school site continue to progress smoothly and staff have worked hard to manage this whilst at the same time ensuring the smooth transition and induction of our new Year 7 cohort in September. Our new cohort of learners joined us for their Induction Day on Tuesday 4th July and enjoyed a series of teambuilding activities including a tour of our new school building.

Tauheedul Education Trust Tauheedul Education Trust continues to go from strength to strength. Both Eden Girls’ School, Waltham Forest and Eden Boys’ School, Bolton, achieved “outstanding” in all areas following their recent Ofsted inspections. These exceptional outcomes are a testament to the efforts of staff in providing pupils with an exemplary standard of education that embodies the Tauheedul hallmarks of educational excellence, character development and service to communities. All staff at our school continue to strive to emulate this exceptional success. Reviews conducted this year by both the Department for Education and Ofsted-trained Quality Assurers have been extremely positive and have praised all areas of the school’s work. I hope that you enjoy this latest edition of our Newsletter and pray you have a peaceful and happy Summer Holidays.

All Praises to the Almighty, Lord of the Worlds and the Master of our fortunes: salutations to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the seal of the Prophets and the guide for all our actions.


Moving Out

Everyone at school is very excited about moving in to our permanent school site! It has been a long wait but we are all now ready to bid farewell to Whitby Road and prepare for the next chapter in our school’s history. From September our address will be 183-187 Bath Road, Slough, SL1 4AA. The building project has been an exciting £22 Million development which places our school at the heart of Slough’s extended Business Park. We have been very fortunate to have worked with an excellent team throughout the project. Thanks to architects ADP and contractors Galliford Try we will be moving in to a building that communicates the unmistakable Tauheedul brand and ethos of faith, excellence and service. Islamic culture and art is reflected throughout the design of the building which provides both a calm, mature and modern learning environment for our learners and a hub for our local community. We look forward to ensuring that our whole community benefits from access to the school’s state-of-the-art educational facilities. Excellent progress has been made in relation to the project plan. Galliford Try are confident in completing the project on time and within budget. Most internal works are now complete and the focus of the scheme

is now largely dedicated to external works and final checks and tests.

Staff and groups of pupils have had the opportunity to visit the building throughout July. All have been impressed by our facilities which include a 3-Court Sports Hall, Fitness Studio, Games Area, Library and Reflection Centre.

Our removal company will move our resources, furniture and equipment out of our temporary site on Monday 24th July and contractors Galliford Try will complete final works before handing over the building to the school on Monday 21st August. The school will be open for 2 weeks to staff prior to the start of term.

Staff, governor, parent and pupil orientation tours have been scheduled in the end of August and a Grand Opening Ceremony will take place in the Autumn Term.

Located within Slough’s thriving commercial centre, our permanent school site offers countless opportunities for the school’s leadership specialism. We are sure that pupils will thrive in our new learning environment and we are very grateful to both the Education and Skills Funding Agency and Tauheedul Education Trust for helping us secure such a fantastic school site.

Educational Excellence

The school’s first classroom

completed in February 2017.

The stunning feature staircase

at the heart of the school.


Attendance Matters The School strives for 100% attendance for all pupils.

The whole school attendance target is 97%. If a pupil

achieves at least 97% attendance in one whole school

year, they will have missed less than 5 days from

school.

100% Attendance

Ayesha Asghar (7I) Sumayyah Malik (7N) Amna Abdul Qayyum (8M) Isha Ayub (8N)

Eeshal Malik (7I) Tayyibah Syeda (7N) Haleema Azad (8M) Dina Chaudhry (8N)

Hanan Lafer (7M) Safa Abdirahman (8I) Mariam Gul (8M) Lulle Hussein (8N)

Zaira Tanveer (7M) Firdous Abid (8I) Laibah Malik (8M) Eman Arshad (9IM)

Noura El-Bokhari (7A) Lyba Khurram (8I) Iqra Ali (8A) Rabab Dahmani (9IM)

Fathma Siddiqui (7A) Aleena Murtza (8I) Zahra Khan (8A) Sajidah Syeda (9IM)

Husnaa Javed (7N) Momina Naz (8I) Malaaikah Malik (8A) Alliya Farooq (9IM)

Haadiya Malik (7N) Sumayyah Rank (8I) Sadiyah Nadim (8A) Tayyiba Qureshi (9IM)

Form Group Attendance

7A 97.6%

8N 97.6%

8I 97.4%

8M 97.4%

7N 97%

9IM 97%

7I 96.9%

7M 96.7%

8A 96.6%

9AN 95.6%

Year Group Attendance

Year 8 97.3%

Year 7 97.1%

Year 9 96.2%

Attendance Excellent attendance is the foundation for outstanding

achievement at school. Our school target for the Year

was 97% and I am delighted to say that we have

achieved this. Well done to all parents, pupils and staff

for helping us achieve this target and for

demonstrating this commitment to Educational

Excellence. Our Pastoral Team of Heads of Year have

worked especially hard reminding pupils of this target

and supporting pupils throughout the term. Special

congratulations to Year 8 for having the highest Year

group attendance this year with 97.3%. Well done to

Forms 7A and 8N for both achieving an amazing 97.6%.

Congratulations to all pupils who have maintained

exceptionally high levels of personal attendance. The

table below highlights all pupils who have completed

the year with 100% Attendance. An outstanding

achievement!


Sports Day 2017 Sports Day 2017 took place this

year on Wednesday 12th July at

the Hillingdon Sports Complex in

Uxbridge.

Pupils competed in a wide range

of events including high jump,

long jump, discus, shot put and a

full series of track races.

The overall Sports Personality of

the Year went to Kyra-Skye Chin-

Thomas with Maryam Yusuf

winning the overall 100m final.

A huge thank you to Mrs

Rawoot, Miss Akhter and Mrs

Razaque for organizing an

excellent day. We were also

delighted to be joined by Miss

Seabridge, our newly appointed

Deputy Director of Learning for

PE. The day ended with a tug-of-

war competition between form

groups and the most

competitive event of the day,

the staff 100m race, with Mr

Chehab taking the opportunity

to show that class is timeless.

UK Maths Trust Challenge This term a large number of our pupils received awards

for their performance in this year’s UK Maths Trust

Challenge.

The competition is aimed at talented mathematicians

in secondary school who are interested in tackling

stimulating mathematical problems. The top 40% of

students receive bronze, silver and gold certificates

nationally in a ratio of 1:2:3.

Well done to all pupils who took part in this prestigious

competition. Especially well done to Eesha Malik in

Year 8 and Areej Ahmed in Year 7 for achieving the

highest results in their Year groups.

Thank you to Mrs Bowkan for leading and organizing

the initiative at our school. The table below highlights

the full list of certificate winners from this year. Well

done to all for this brilliant achievement!

Pupil Certificate Pupil Certificate

Eesha Malik (Year 8) Silver & Best-in-Year Eeshal Malik (Year 7) Silver

Amina Arfad (Year 8) Silver Saarah Izzuldin (Year 7) Bronze

Momina Naz (Year 8) Silver Zaira Tanveer (Year 7) Bronze

Aqsa Chaudhry (Year 8) Bronze Maryyam Farooq (Year 7) Bronze

Aksa Khatoon (Year 8) Bronze Inaya Irshad (Year 7) Bronze

Zahra Azim (Year 8) Bronze Minah Sabri (Year 7) Bronze

Bilquis Ahmed (Year 8) Bronze Zeenat Nasir (Year 7) Bronze

Areej Ahmed (Year 7) Silver & Best-in-Year Mariam Mohamud (Year 7) Bronze

Fatima Diha (Year 7) Silver Sumayya Muhammad (Year 7) Bronze

Laiba Ahmar (Year 7) Silver Aasia Shaikh (Year 7) Bronze

Aisha Razaq (Year 7) Silver


Spirituality Day The school held a dedicated

Spirituality Day in May. The day

focused on Health and Hygiene,

Ramadhaan and Charity.

Teachers and Heads of Year were

involved in leading workshops on the

day. Sessions were aimed at

supporting pupils in their spiritual

development and form an important

part of their personal and health

education.

Guests from a wide range of

organisations were invited in to

school to lead sessions with pupils.

Learners took part in workshops to

help them prepare for the holy

month of Ramadhaan. This involved

both reflection on the significance of

the month as well as practical

activities to ensure pupils had

strategies and tools for gaining the

maximum benefits from the

blessings and rewards offered

throughout the month.

Pupils learnt about the relationship

between fasting during the month of

Ramadhaan and charity. Learners

listened to presentations by

representatives from charities who

raise funds for projects to support

victims of the refugee crisis in Syria.

Pupils were given the opportunity to

speak to aid workers on the ground

in Turkey through a live online link-

up. The humbling experience and

moving story of the aid workers

provided inspiration for our pupils

and helped bring the issue of charity

to life.

Pupils were encouraged to gain a

sense of enjoyment and fascination

in learning about themselves and the

world around them in an imaginative

and creative way, an important part

of their Spiritual, Moral, Social and

Cultural development.

Character Development

Nirmal Singh,

from Slough

Borough

Council,

highlighting the

importance of

charity in Islam

and Sikhism.


The Big Iftar & Great Get Together

Our school brought the local

community together on

Thursday 15 June, throwing

open our doors for a Great Get

Together.

Over 150 local people gathered

in our school to share a meal in

memory of the late MP Jo Cox

on the eve of the first

anniversary of her death. Guests

included local faith leaders,

community groups and the

Mayor of Slough, Councillor

Ishrat Shah. We also invited

along pupils and staff from

neighbouring schools and

friends of the school, including

charities for which we have

fundraised.

Eden Girls’ School pupils led

tributes to Jo Cox MP, and gave

presentations on the work of

the Slough Youth Parliament

and national homeless charity

Shelter.

The Great Get Together is an

initiative led by the Jo Cox

Foundation to help highlight the

late MP’s ‘More In Common’

message. It was an opportunity

for people to get together with

their neighbours to share food

and celebrate all that we have in

common.

The event coincided with our Big

Iftar event, an annual

community inter-faith

celebration held during

Ramadaan. Guests were invited

into school to share a meal as

pupils and staff opened their

fast on the evening of Thursday

15 June.

We opened up our school to a

wide range of local faith leaders,

community groups, civic

dignitaries and friends for a

wonderful evening of

celebrations. It was very

satisfying to see so many people

from different backgrounds

coming together to share food

and to celebrate all that we

have in common.

Reverend Dr John Parry,

Minister of Deanway United

Church, said:

“It was a brilliant evening. The

girls were superb in their

presentations; such confidence

and social awareness are

wonderful to be found.”

Julie Siddiqi, National Co-

ordinator of The Big Iftar, said:

“I would like to congratulate the

school for the great event. It

was my pleasure and privilege

to be a small part of it. The

students were excellent and

made an impression on

everyone. The visitors loved

their experience. The school has

done a brilliant job in so many

ways.”

Eden Girls’ School’s Great Get Together brought

community together to share food and fun


Service to Communities

Manchester Thoughts and prayers went out this term to all those affected in the terrible terrorist attack in Manchester in May. We were extremely proud of Sumayya Tafhimi, Munaima Tafhimi and Aish Tahir for demonstrating civic leadership and representing our school at the Slough Borough Council community vigil on Tuesday 23rd May. Pupils spoke in front of a gathering of local dignitaries and leaders to reinforce a community message of peace and unity.

The school received feedback from a member of the public who attended the vigil who wrote to the school to say: “I just wanted to write to commend your three young ladies who performed at the Manchester Vigil. With their heads held high with confidence, they delivered their pieces articulately and clearly. I particularly enjoyed the poetry. These girls are a credit to your school. I wish them all the best for the future. May Allah tala bless your school with success upon success. Ameen.”

Sumayya Tafhimi,

Munaima Tafhimi

and Aish Tahir

represented Eden

Girls’ School,

Slough at the

Slough Borough

Council Civic

Ceremony in

May.


Key Term Dates 2017-18

Staff Inset Day 1: Monday 4th September

Start of Autumn Term (Year 7): Tuesday 5th September

Start of Autumn Term (Years 8-10): Wednesday 6th September

Mid-Term Closure: Monday 23rd October—Friday 27th October

Xmas Holidays: Thursday 21st December—Tuesday 2nd January

Start of Spring Term: Thursday 4th January 2018

Grenfell Tower Community Response As we watched the terrible scenes

unfold in West London on

Wednesday 14th June we decided

that the right thing to do as

neighbours was to support those

affected in the Grenfell Tower in any

way we could. We appealed to parents for help and

were overwhelmed by the response.

The contribution made to support

the survivors of the disaster was

significant. Parents donated all kinds

of goods and money as part of the

relief effort. More money was

collected as the school continued to

show solidarity with victims, taking

part in the Green-for-Grenfell

campaign through the purchase of

specially-made wrist bands.

On the day of the fire a group of

pupils and staff joined community

members at The Edward Woods

Community Centre to create

resource packs for survivors.

Another group took collections of

prayers and thoughts from our

school community to the Grenfell

Wall of Condolence. As well as

providing immediate neighbourly

support we hope this experience

forms an important part of the

Character Education for all our

learners.

Staff Leavers It is with great sadness that we say farewell to Mr Houdi, Mr Abbas and Mrs Razaque at the end of this term. We

thank them for their tremendous contributions to the school and wish them the best of luck as they move on to new

roles and challenges in September.

As the school grows we offer a warm welcome to our team of newly appointed colleagues who join us In September

in a wide range of teaching and support roles.

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